A Reunion to be Remembered
by ScreenName7
Summary: Remember when Raoul brought Buri to ward off matchmaking mothers? Well now it's Dom's turn with a slight twist in the plot of course KelDom, with slight references of NealYuki
1. Pop the Question

**Disclaimer: Tamora Pierce owns the characters.**

_I wrote this a long time ago. It's the first story I've written that's not a oneshot, so bear with me. Also, if I don't get enough reviews, I will think that my work is utter crap, and will not continue the story. So if you like it, say so (review...). Anyway, it's Dom/Kel from the Protector of the Small series. VOILA._

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Sergeant Domitan of Masbolle wasn't usually one to beg. In fact, he detested it. He had no trouble asking for help, but he could not stand to grovel.

So when he was forced to do the one thing he hated, needless to say, he was not a happy camper. However, he was also forced to change his mind about begging, as it seemed to be very effective. He had convinced Lady Kel to accompany him to a family gathering, something she would never normally agree to.

Dom smiled to himself as he thought about the day's events. They certainly had been interesting...

_**FLASHBACK**_

Dom clenched his teeth as he read a letter sent to him by his mother for the second time. _A family gathering_, Dom thought. _Ha! It's an excuse to pick apart every little detail about me._

Dom's many aunts had gotten into the habit of lecturing him about the many things that were wrong with him, and comparing him to the meathead.

"_Why couldn't you be more like dear cousin Nealan?"_

"_Nealan used his healing magic to cure the children in the fief of the flu. He's so talented and kindhearted. It's a shame you don't have the gift too."_

"_So you must have heard that Nealan is betrothed to that lovely Yamani girl. Isn't that just wonderful? You should start to think about courting someone, Domitan."_

That was their favorite topic: Dom's love life. His aunts had been bugging him about marriage even before he was promoted to Commander of the King's Own (after Buri _finally_ made an honest man out of Raoul) and was actually allowed to marry.

The last time he had seen them, he had finally reached the last straw. He told them that he was courting someone and that the chances were good that she would be "the one", not stopping to think that telling this lie could come back to bite him.

And now, here it was, jaws wide open and ready to strike at any moment. It was in the form of an invitation from his parents to a reunion, telling him how excited they (and his aunts) were to meet this special lady he had talked about. This was bad. He couldn't tell them that he had lied. It was out of the question. _What am I going to do?_

Dom's thoughts were interrupted by his cousin Neal (also known as Meathead) entering his quarters.

"So Dom, did you hear about the family gathering? You must be so excited for them to meet that special girl," he said, smirking.

Dom scowled. "Stop that, Meathead."

"That's _Sir_ Meathead to you. Anyway, I'm here to help you."

"What? Did I hear that correctly?"

Neal sat down at Dom's desk. "I have an idea."

Dom raised his eyebrows. "Uh oh."

Neal ignored him. "Do you remember the time when Raoul brought Buri to ward off the mothers of his fief?" he asked.

"Yes," Dom said slowly.

"Well, I was thinking you could do something along those lines. Bring a lady who will pretend to be your consort." Neal looked at Dom to see his reaction.

Dom considered the idea. "It might work, but who would agree to that?"

"I was thinking, maybe...Kel?"

"Kel? She's a good friend, but I don't think this is a favor she'd be willing to do."

Neal raised his eyebrows. "You'd be surprised at what Kel would do for you."

"What?"

Neal shook his head, as if it was obvious. "Nothing, Dom. Just think about it, alright?"

"Yeah I will. Thanks, Meathead."

Neal nodded to his cousin and left.

Dom sat down. Would Kel really agree to lie for a whole night? She had helped him out a lot in the past, but this was very different. He didn't know if she would be comfortable with it.

He supposed it was worth a try, though. He would ask her and if she said no...well, she said no.

As he got up to go look for the Lady Knight, he thought about Neal's comment earlier, about what Kel would do for him. What did he mean? It couldn't be that Kel had more-than-friendly feelings for him, could it?

Dom found himself almost wishing that it was true. Realizing this, he quickly squashed the emotion. Kel didn't think about him that way and he didn't think about her that way either. They were friends, nothing more.

He brought his head back to reality and discovered that he'd been wandering around the palace instead of looking for Kel. He changed his direction and headed towards the practice area, where he knew Kel would be training.

Sure enough, he found the knight doing fast, complicated pattern dances with her glaive. Everytime he witnessed her doing this, he was awed. He movements were razor-quick, but amazingly graceful. He watched her in silence, taking in her face, which was set with concentration and the way her muscles moved in her arms and legs. She finally lowered her weapon and looked at Dom. He wondered how her face could remain so pretty when she was tired out and sweaty from training. His eyes wandered down to her chest, which was heaving up and down. Then he shook his head quickly. Where did _that_ come from?

He cleared his throat hastily. "Hi, Kel. Listen, uh, I've got a favor to – to ask of you," he stammered out. _Mithros_, he thought, _what's wrong with me today? I've never found it hard to talk to her before._

Kel, frowning a little, said, "What's up, Dom?"

"Well, I don't know if Neal's told you about the family gathering we have to go to..." He trailed off, not really knowing how to ask her to do this.

"He did mention something earlier."

"The thing is, the last time I saw my family, they were constantly telling me that I should court a lady before it's too late. I got tired of it, so I told them that I had met a woman. Now, they all can't wait to meet her, and she...well, she doesn't exist."

He saw the corners of Kel's mouth turn up into a small smile before she slid her face into that Yamani mask of hers. "And what do you need me for?" she asked.

Dom took a deep breath. "I was hoping, maybe you would pretend to be the woman I'm courting? A favor from one friend to another?" He looked at her, trying to read her face, but it was impossible.

"Don't you have any other lady friends who would do this for you?"

Dom shook his head. "You're the only one I trust enough. Sure, there are a few who _might_ do it, but they're not friends with me like you are."

Kel looked skeptical. She fidgeted with he glaive while she said, "I don't know, Dom. It's awfully complicated."

Dom took a step forward and grasped Kel's shoulders gently. "Come on, it's just one night. Who knows? It might even turn out to be fun!"

Kel laughed at this. "An evening with your aunts interrogating and badgering me? That's not really my idea of fun."

"But Neal and Yuki will be there. You can talk to them! And my aunts surely won't spend the whole night talking to me and you. Look, Kel. I'll clean your weapons for 2 months if you do this for me."

"Dom–"

"I'll polish your armor until you can see you own reflection in it! I'll buy the most expensive kind of birdseed for your sparrows! I'll...I'll–"

Kel swiftly covered his mouth with her hand. "Enough! Fine! I'll do it. I'll help you with your stupid lies," she said exasperatedly.

Dom threw his arms around her, causing her to laugh. "Yes! Oh, thank you, Kel! This is great." He squeezed her tightly, loving the feeling of her in his arms. Then, he realized that they had just been standing there huggingfor more than 5 minutes, and let go quickly, his cheeks turning red. He couldn't help but notice that Kel looked a little flushed herself.

"Well, then–"

"Right, um–"

Dom cleared his throat.

"I suppose I'll get back to my training," Kel said. "Just let me know about the details later. I suppose I'll have to get a dress from Lalasa." She scowled.

Dom laughed, relieved that they had passed the awkward moment. "You have no idea how much this means to me, Kel. Thanks for agreeing to do this."

Kel smiled. "Well, what are friends for?"

Dom felt a pang in his stomach when she said this, but he quickly pushed it out of his mind.

She turned to go to the stables but then she said, "Oh, and by the way, you don't have to get the most expensive birdseed. The regular kind will do just fine." She laughed and jogged off to get Peachblossom read for tilting practice.

Dom chuckled and made his was back through the palace, wondering why he had had so many strange thoughts about Kel today.

_This year's family reunion was certainly going to be interesting..._

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_So that was the first chapter. How do you like it so far? Remember, I'm not continuing the story if no one's reading it. So if you want more, REVIEW!_


	2. AllKnowing Meathead

**Disclaimer: Tamora Pierce owns the characters.**

_OK...so I'm realllllly really sorry about how long its been since I put up the first chapter. Honestly, I never expected to take so long_, _but with school and stuff...anyway I had hoped to finish it when summer started but I had amazingly horrible writer's block_._ The mood to write struck me last night though (well..early this morning, more like) so I finished the 2__nd__ chapter. I also started writing a Miri/Evin oneshot if you're interested, so keep an eye out :) _

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_**Chapter 2**_

Dom looked at the cards he held in his hands. He and Neal were in Neal's study, playing a card game they used to play when they were younger. He took the 7 of diamonds confidently from his hand and laid it down on the table. However, Neal, who was seated across from him, had already decided the results of the card game and proceeded to put down all of his cards to win the game (AN: I don't know what game they were playing. let's just say frustration. I don't really care if it doesn't make sense, because let's face it, I'm the author, and I can write what I want. :D) Dom's jaw dropped.

"I'm not so much of a Meathead, now, am I?" Neal asked his cousin smugly.

"But...but I used to win every game of cards we played. I was _undefeated_! How in Mithros' name did you get so good?"

"He memorizes the cards that are dealt. Hasn't anyone ever told you?"

Dom whipped around quickly, dropping all of his cards and nearly knocking over his chair in the process. Standing in the doorway was Kel, the person that, as of late, occupied every inch of Dom's mind.

He hadn't spoken to her since the day that he had experienced very new feelings around her. He had done a lot of thinking since then, and had decided that he just had a temporary infatuation. A sort of crush. It was probably just happening because Dom had asked Kel to pretend to be his consort. His feelings would go away and she could return to being his friend Kel, the knight, instead of _Kel_, the woman of his dreams, the person who kept him up all night, thinking.

"Dom, are you alright?" Kel gave him a funny look.

He cleared his throat. "Um, yes, well...why wouldn't I be?" He shotr a glare at Neal, who was trying not to laugh, looking back and forth between Dom and Kel.

Dom frowned. He hoped that this infatuation wouldn't last too long. He was a commander. He was always in control and he liked it. He didn't like how his heart hammered when he saw Kel. He didn't like that every night, he couldn't fall asleep because he was thinking about what it would be like to hold her in his arms, like he had that day, maybe even kiss her. And he especially didn't like the foolish and clumsy things that seemed inevitable for him to do when she caught him off-guard.

As he tried to slow his heartbeat to a reasonable pace, Dom asked Kel, in his best offhand voice, "Were you looking for me?"

Kel laughed. "I hate to burst your ego, Commander, but I came to ask Neal over there if he would like to come to the tilting yards. It's been ages since I've jousted against an opponent."

Dom sat down, his cheeks burning with embarrassment that he had automatically assumed that Kel had come to see him. He tried to ignore the sensation at the pit of his stomach that felt oddly like jealousy and unclenched his hands.

Neal sighed dramatically. There was a mischievous twinkle in his eye. "Kel, you know my feelings about tilting with you. I'd like to keep my body intact, thank you very much."

Kel shook her head. "They're going to take away your shield if you keep avoiding the practice courts like the plague," she said with an exasperated tone.

Neal waved his hand nonchalantly. "In any case, my father wants me to help with the healers today."

Kel nodded. "Alright, suit yourself. When you have a lance through you, don't say I didn't offer to practise with you."

At this comment, Dom laughed. Both Kel and Neal turned to give him a questioning look. He said, "Well, if the Meathead had a lance through him, it would only be because _you _ran him through by accident when he wasn't paying attention during a practice run." Dom looked at Kel.

She laughed, and the sound sent chills up and down Dom's back. Mithros, he loved it when he made her laugh.

Neal raised his eyes to the ceiling and shook his head, muttering to himself.

"What are you doing?" Kel asked him, bewildered.

"Oh, nothing," he said dismissively. "Say, here's an idea!" Neal clapped his hands once enthusiastically.

"Uh oh," Kel and Dom said together. She grinned at him and his stomach turned over. Neal ignored them both and continued.

"Why doesn't Dom joust with you Kel? You've tilted before, right, Dom?"

Dom looked at Neal, suspicious. Did the Meathead know anything about his crush? From the suggestive tone he used, the smirk on his face and his raised eyebrows, Dom had a hunch that he had indeed guessed what had been going on in his head the last few days. _He had better not say anything to her..._

Kel cleared her throat, looking hopeful. Dom sighed. "I suppose I could allow you to send me flying into the air a few times. Since you're doing me a favor. I might as well," he said, trying to make it seem like he was indifferent to the idea of spending an afternoon with Kel.

"Excellent. He'll meet you on the practice courts, Kel. I just need a word with him." Dom shot Neal a curious look and then waved to Kel. As soon as the door snapped shut behind her, he turned to Neal questioningly.

Neal had a smug look on his face. "You can thank me anytime, oh cousin of mine." He smirked again.

Annoyed, Dom looked at the ceiling. "I don't know what you're talking about, Meathead."

"Oh please. It was plain as day that you were jealous that Kel wanted me to joust with her. So, I just did the natural thing."

"I wasn't jealous! I was just...I was.." Dom struggled to come up with an excuse.

"You can give up on the sharade anytime, Dom. I know you have a thing for her."

Dom reddened. "Look, I don't know how you know. I just realised it myself. But it's only temporary."

Neal raised an eyebrow. "You've decided this already, have you?" Dom looked him in the eye defiantly and was greatly irritated when Neal began to laugh. "You can't control feelings like this, Dom, honestly."

"But I just want things to be back to normal with Kel."

Neal suddenly grew very serious. "I don't think things are going to ever be normal again. I think you're falling for her," he said in a low tone, dropping the sarcastic voice he usually used. He left his cousin with much to think about, as he exited his quarters to go to the healing wing, saying nothing more.

_Could I really be falling for her? Could this be the real thing? _Dom didn't know if this was good or not.

_Well, _he thought, _there's no use dwelling on it. I'll just see where it goes. _

And so, Dom set off to the tilting yards, hoping he wouldn't make a fool of himself and, above all, praying that he would survive the afternoon.

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_Aaaaaaand done. Next chapter will be tilting/discussion of details for the reunion. And then hopefully the reunion itself. Now I know that many of you are probably irritated with me at how long I took to get this up (again, SO SORRY) but do you think you could find it in your hearts to review anyway? Please? or at least read and review the Miri/Evin fic I'll be posting soon. :)_

_PEACE, _

_S. _


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